Cataldo Amodei
Cataldo Vito Amodei (6 May 1649 – 13 July 1693) was an Italian composer of the mid-
Amodei held posts at various musical institutions, maestro del coro (
Life and career
Early life
Cataldo Amodei was born in
Naples
In Naples, Amodei was ordained a priest and presumably completed his musical education, the details of which are not extant.
In 1680/81,
Amodei was known as a colleague of
"Cataldo Amodei, the most excellent Maestro di Cappella of San Paolo Maggiore of the Order of Regular Clerics in the City of Naples, and of the Collegio di San Tommaso d'Aquino of the Dominican Fathers and of the Royal Conservatory of Sant'Onofrio who wrote an infinite number of compositions"
— Bonaventura Sanfilippo-Galiotto, 1710, chapter 27 of Sacrum Xacca Theatrum[8]
Music
Overview
Amodei's compositions consist of
Amodei set text by
Cantatas
18th-century Naples was an active site of cantata production, first with composers such as A. Scarlatti, Francesco Mancini and Domenico Sarro.[16] Amodei's cantatas were the most significant predecessor to this.[16] Amodei stands with the elder Provenzale and younger A. Scarlatti as among the principal Italian composers of cantatas.[3] His book of 1685 cantatas, Cantate Op. 2, is the earliest book of cantatas to be printed in Naples;[16] the next single cantata was Antion del Ricco's Urania armonica. Cantate a voce sola, Op. 1 of 1686[20] and the next book was Pergolesi's Quattro cantate da camera of around 1736.[16] The work's full title is Cantate a voce sola, libro primo, opera seconda, di Cataldo Amodei, maestro di cappella di San Paolo Maggiore de' molto reverendi Padri Teatini, del Collegio di San Tomaso d'Aquino de' molto reverendi Padri Domenicani, d del Real Conservatorio di S. Honofrio di Napoli.[13] Unlike earlier Italian cantatas such as the anonymous Squarciato appena havea and L'amante impazzito con altre Cantate, e Serenate a solo, et a due con violini (1679) by Milanese composer Simone Coya , Amodei's Cantate are particularly virtuosic and do not conform to the earlier Italian archetype of ironically setting popular tunes to serious subjects.[13] Musicologist Alfred Einstein favorably compared Amodei's cantata "L'interesse" from the Op. 2 to Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.[21] Einstein explained:
"This is, in a way, a distant ancestor of Wagner's Ring. Both embody revolt against capitalism. Amodei's horrible representation of Interest foreshadows the giant
Fafner who 'sits in possession:' only instead of Wagner's redemption through love, he invites us piously to raise our eyes to heaven. The music has a distinct expressive value."[21]
Oratorios
Amodei's four oratorios, L'innocenza infetta dal pomo, Il flagello dell'empietà, La Susanna and Il Giosuè vittorioso are important works in establishing the form and content of Italian oratorios.[7] Described by musicologists Rosa Cafiero and Marina Marino as "rather homogeneous" ("piuttosto omogeneo)", the works were all written for San Paolo Maggiore and share subject matter and musical form.[22] They are thus exemplary to the Italian oratorio's increasing tendency to have its subject matter, structure, patronage and performance aligned.[22]
During the beginning of the 17th century, librettists were typically more prominent than composers, with the latter more likely to be anonymous.[23] Only one of the oratorios—La Susanna—has a librettist listed (Perrucci), suggesting a switch in the dominance of composers and librettists.[7]
Others
Primo libro de' mottetti (First Book of Motets; 1679), his
Works
Title | Year | Genre | Occasion[7] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Primo libro de' mottetti, op. 1 (First Book of Motets) |
1679 | Motet (2–5 voices) |
Dedicated to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor | – |
Cantate, libro primo, op. 2[n 8] (Cantatas, First Book) |
1685 | Cantata (1 voice) |
– | – |
L'innocenza infetta dal pomo (Innocence Infects the Apple) |
1685 | Oratorio (2 voices)[7] |
For San Paolo Maggiore | Based on Original Sin[18]
|
Il flagello dell'empietà (The Scourge of Wickedness) |
1685 | Oratorio (1 voice)[7] |
For San Paolo Maggiore | – |
La Susanna (The Susanna) |
1686 | Oratorio | For San Paolo Maggiore | Based on |
Il Giosuè vittorioso (The Victorious Joshua) |
1687[25] | Oratorio (1 voice)[25] |
For San Paolo Maggiore Pentecost[25] |
Music lost[n 9] Libretto survived Printed by Carlo Porsile[25] |
Il trionfo della purità di Maria (The Triumph of Mary's Purity) |
1687/88[n 10] | "Componimento per musica"[26] (4 voices)[26] |
– | Manuscript at the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III[26] |
La sirena consolata[n 11] (The Consoled Siren) |
1692 | Serenata
|
– | Lost Text from Andrea Perrucci |
Pastorale[9] | 1688 | Pastorale | Christmas 1686–1890 | ? |
Pastorale per la novena del Signore[27][9][n 12] | ? | Pastorale (4 voices) |
? | Set to the "Rorate caeli" text Acomp. two violins and organ basso continuo |
Confitebor tibi Domine[27][9] | ? | Psalm
|
? | Acomp. two violins and organ basso continuo |
Laetaus sum[27][9] | ? | Psalm
|
? | Acomp. two violins and organ basso continuo |
Editions
Amodei's works are included in the following collections:
- OCLC 639148255.
- Giuseppe, Collisani, ed. (2008). Cataldo Amodei: Cinque duetti concertati per Soprano e Basso [Cataldo Amodei: Five Concerted Duets for Soprano and Bass]. Dafni. Vol. 11. Palermo: Mnemes. OCLC 268784308.
Recordings
Numerous cantatas by Amodei were recorded in Cataldo Amodei: Cantatas (2004) by soprano Emma Kirkby, lutenist Jakob Lindberg and harpsichordist Lars Ulrik Mortensen.[28][29] Three of these recordings were rereleased in The Artistry of Emma Kirkby (2009).[30]
References
Notes
- ^ Prior to said identification, his birthdate was traditionally dated to c. 1649[3] or c. 1650.[1]
- ^ New research in D'Alessandro 2019, pp. 170–176 gives March 1680 as the date and Filippo Coppola as Amodei's predecessor for the San Paolo Maggiore post. Prior to this D'Alessandro 2003, p. XLVII reported that it was unknown who preceded him and when Amodei obtained his post at San Paolo Maggiore; he was only known to have been employed there by 1685.[6]
- Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio a Porta CapuanaD'Alessandro (2003, p. XLVI) is traditionally recorded as beginning in 1681. However, D'Alessandro argues this is the result of printing error, and the actual date is 1680, see note 10 in
- Conservatorio di Saint Maria della Pietà dei TurchiniConservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo . The Casa dell'Annunziata was also an important center for musical learning.[10]and the
- ^ Records describe it as "to teach the boys, in the morning, to play and sing".[1]
- ^ D'Alessandro (2003, p. XLVII) prefers the translation of "one of the leading figures of this town"
- ^ See D'Alessandro (2003, pp. LV–LVI) for a detailed account of the many feasts and their musical forces
- ^ Full title: Cantate a voce sola, libro primo, opera seconda, di Cataldo Amodei, maestro di cappella di San Paolo Maggiore de' molto reverendi Padri Teatini, del Collegio di San Tomaso d'Aquino de' molto reverendi Padri Domenicani, d del Real Conservatorio di S. Honofrio di Napoli[13]
- Conservatorio di San Pietro a MajellaBiblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III, Naples; and the Biblioteca Civica of Padua.[1], Naples; the
- ^ Bossa (2001) records 1687 while Cafiero & Marino (1987, p. 487) records 1688
- ^ Full title: La sirena consolata, Serenata per la ricuperata salute della Maestà Cattolica di Marianna di Neoburgo portata in musica da Cataldo Amodei[19]
- ^ The Pastorale per la novena del Signore may be the same Pastorale by Amodei which was performed at San Paolo Maggiore for Christmas 1688.[9]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bossa 2001.
- ^ a b c d D'Alessandro 2003, p. XLV.
- ^ a b Collisani 1992, "Cataldo Amodei".
- ^ a b c d D'Alessandro 2003, p. XLVI.
- ^ D'Alessandro 2019, pp. 170–176.
- ^ a b c D'Alessandro 2003, p. XLVII.
- ^ a b c d e f Cafiero & Marino 1987, p. 470.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro 2003, pp. XLV–XLVI.
- ^ a b c d e f g h D'Alessandro 2003, p. LIII.
- ^ a b c Veneziano, Di Benedetto & Fabris 2001, "The Spanish era (1503–1734): The conservatories".
- ^ a b c D'Alessandro 2003, p. LIV.
- ^ a b c d e D'Alessandro 2003, p. LV.
- ^ a b c d e f Fabris 2007, p. 200.
- ^ Robinson & Monson 2002.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro 2003, p. LVI.
- ^ a b c d e Timms et al. 2001, "The Italian cantata to 1800: c1725–1800: Naples".
- ^ a b Talbot 2009, p. 100.
- ^ a b c d "City: Naples/Theater: Congregazione del Divino amore dell'Orefici in San Paolo". Stanford University Libraries. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ a b Fabris 2007, p. 43.
- ^ Talbot 2009, p. 91.
- ^ a b Calvocoressi 1934, p. 508.
- ^ a b Cafiero & Marino 1987, pp. 470–471.
- ^ Cafiero & Marino 1987, pp. 470–417.
- ^ Fabris 2007, pp. 64–65.
- ^ a b c d Cafiero & Marino 1987, p. 486.
- ^ a b c Cafiero & Marino 1987, p. 487.
- ^ a b c Amodei, Cataldo (2003). Composizioni liturgiche. Libreria musicale italiana. Retrieved 18 August 2021 – via Stanford University Libraries.
- ^ Greene, John. "Cataldo Amodei: Cantatas". Classics Today. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "Cataldo Amodei - solo cantatas". BIS Records. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "The Artistry of Emma Kirkby". Presto Classical Limited. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
Sources
Books
- Cafiero, Rosa; Marino, Marina (1987). "Materiali per una definizione di "oratorio" a Napoli nel Seicento: primi accertamenti" [Materials for a definition of "oratory" in Naples in the seventeenth century: first investigations]. In OCLC 466401333.
- D'Alessandro, Domenico Antonio (2003). "Don Cataldo Amodei "nostro Maestro di Cappella": la musica nella chiesa napoletana di San Paolo Maggiore dal 1685 al 1693" [Don Cataldo Amodei "our Maestro di Cappella": Music in the Neapolitan Church of San Paolo Maggiore From 1685 to 1693]. In OCLC 639148255.
- D'Alessandro, Domenico Antonio (2019). "Mecenati e mecenatismo nella vita musicale napoletana del Seicento e condizione sociale del musicista. I casi di Giovanni Maria Trabaci e Francesco Provenzale" [Patrons and patronage in the Neapolitan musical life of the seventeenth century and social condition of the musician. The cases of Giovanni Maria Trabaci and Francesco Provenzale]. In Cotticelli, Francesco; Maione, Paologiovanni (eds.). Storia della musica e dello spettacolo a Napoli [History of music and entertainment in Naples] (in Italian). Vol. 2. Naples: Turchini. pp. 71–603. ISBN 978-88-89491-18-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-3721-9.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-5794-1.
Journals and articles
- Bossa, Renato (2001). "Amodei, Cataldo". ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- JSTOR 919167.
- Collisani, Amalia (1992). "Back Matter". Rivista Italiana di Musicologia (in Italian). 27 (1/2). Libreria Musicale Italiana (LIM) Editrice. JSTOR 24320818.
- Veneziano, Giulia Anna Romana; Di Benedetto, Renato; ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
Further reading
- OCLC 757548.
- Gialdroni, Teresa M. (1987). "Francesco Provenzale e la cantata a Napoli nella seconda metà del Seicento" [Francesco Provenzale and the cantata in Naples in the second half of the seventeenth century]. In OCLC 466401333.
- OCLC 736193. Includes Rostirolla, Giancarlo. Catalogo generale delle opere a cura di Giancarlo Rostirolla [General catalog of the works by Giancarlo Rostirolla].